


The feverish crow

by Lynn_Forster



Series: Tumblr Requests [9]
Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Everybody Lives, F/M, M/M, Post-Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, Sick Character, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26660293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynn_Forster/pseuds/Lynn_Forster
Summary: TUMBLR PROMPT from Anon.Kaz is sick and Inej takes care of him, paying attention to avoid physical contact.
Relationships: (side), Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik
Series: Tumblr Requests [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865095
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed this Prompt, hope you'll like the story!  
> Thanks to everyone who will read!

Inej felt her heart jumping into her throat, when she saw Matthias carrying a unconscious Kaz into the small apartment the leader of the Dregs lived in, near to the Slat.  
She was cleaning the blades of her knives, in that moment, sitting on a small armchair. She immediately let the knife fall to the floor, standing up and running to them.  
“What has happened?” she cried, looking for bloodstains on the perfectly ironed white shirt.  
“He isn't hurt,” the Fjerdan reassured, as Jesper entered the flat, following him. “But he has a fever.”  
“He didn't feel well this morning,” Jesper added. “I told him to rest, but he didn't listen and spent the whole day working.”  
“Let's take him to his room” the girl said, trying to ignore the burning grip that tormented her stomach.  
Saints, who could imagine she would have seen Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands, the Bastard of the Barrel, the King of Ketterdam Criminality, in those conditions, with his skin burning, his face wet with sweat, his body shivering. He looked so small and harmless, in Matthias' huge arms.  
Once they reached the bedroom, Jesper immediately prepared the bed, so the Fjerdan could lay the sick boy on the mattress. He removed his shoes and replaced the grey, elegant socks with a pair Inej handed him.  
She felt quite uncomfortable, when they had to remove his shirt and pants, knowing they would have inevitably risked to touch him and he wouldn't have liked it, even though he was unconscious. But it would have been worse letting him in sweaty clothes.  
Carefully, they managed thatlast task and they covered him with soft, warm blankets.  
“I'll take you a basin and some handkerchiefs” Matthias said then, rapidly walking out of the room.  
Inej sat on the bed, sighing, looking at her mate with sad eyes.  
She couldn't bear to see him like that.  
Jesper sat next to her and let her rest her head against his chest, holding her close.  
“Everything will be alright” he murmured.  
  
  
  
  
The situation looked bad. It was almost three in the morning and not only Kaz was still shivering and panting, he had also started to wail and talk.  
Inej tried to hold her tears, staunching his forehead and face with a fresh, wet handkerchief.  
She was alone with him, in the room.  
All the squad had come to the flat to help her take care of the sick boy, but, one by one, she persuaded them to go to sleep, since they all looked terribly tired.  
Jesper was the last one to leave, about an hour before.   
Yes, she had a long day too, but she knew she wouldn't have been able to close her eyes. She didn't even feel the necessity to rest.  
“Kaz,” she whispered. “I'm here. Don't worry, I'm here.”  
The boy whined, clenching his teeth and shaking his head against the pillow.  
“No... no, Jordie... don't leave me... please... I am alone... I am alone...”  
Inej let a painful sigh out. His body was burning from the inside, trapping him into Hell. A Hell where he was forced to live the worst moments of his life again and again.  
She looked at the little box Kuwei left on the bedside table, next to a glass and a bottle of water. There were some pills, inside, pills that would have made the fever vanish, but they were quite large and he needed to be awake to take them.  
Meanwhile, she had to keep on sponging his skin with the handkerchiefs and, at the same time, make sure the blankets were keeping him warm.  
That meant... she constantly risked to touch him on his bare skin.  
She gently placed a handkerchief on his forehead and, cautiously, she bared one of his arms, rolling up the sleeve.  
“No... no, please...” he murmured again. “Jes...”  
“Ssshhh... Kaz, it's okay,” she said, sponging his wrist.  
“Jes, I'm sorry...”  
Inej stopped for a while, looking at the young man with a surprised expression.  
“I'm sorry, Jes...” he continued. “I know... it's not your fault, I know...”  
She bit her own lower lip, proceeding to sponge his other wrist. Suddenly, Kaz winced and started to fidget. The handkerchief on his head fell on the pillow.  
“I shouldn't have taken you there!” he screamed, his eyes open but fixed. “They saw you, they found you! I exposed you! There's blood on the streets!”  
“Kaz!” she exclaimed, grabbing him by his shoulders, protected by the fabric of the shirt. “Kaz, please...”  
“Matthias, you shouldn't have come with me!”  
He was strong. Too strong. Inej struggled to put him down, but it was like pushing a huge wall, made of ice and stone.  
“Kaz... Matthias is fine now... please, calm down!”  
In the exact moment she felt her grip weakening, Kaz fell backwards, trembling, his chest raising and falling with an irregular rythm.  
Inej stretched her hand forward, but she realized she was trembling too. She covered him with the blankets again, then, she took a few moments to chill.  
His personal Hell had shown him the horrible discussion with Jesper and then Matthias, a step from his death, bleeding from the bullet wound in his stomach.  
She couldn't imagine what other tortures it was preparing for him.  
The pills into the little box suddenly became a huge temptation to her. They would have free him from the fever and the delirious torments in a few minutes...  
She shook her head. No, she couldn't risk, the easiest way was also the most dangerous.  
She took a deep breath, bringing the handkerchief that laid on his pillow, she soaked it again into the basin and, after wringing it out, she started sponging his forehead again.  
Suddenly, his hand caught her forearm, making her wince. Luckily, she was wearing long sleeves.  
“Kaz?” she murmured.  
His grip was quite soft, she could get free easily. He had scared her, at first, but she soon realized he wasn't trying to hold her, out of panic... he just seemed to look for a safe anchor.  
And then... he whispered her name.  
“Inej...”  
His voice was calm, almost warm.  
“Inej... I want... I want to...”  
“What?” she sweetly murmured. “Tell me, Kaz.”  
The boy frowned a bit, his eyes closed. There was still a shadow of sufferings on his face, but it seemed his personal Hell was giving him some rest.  
“I want... to ask you... to stay... but... no... not forever... I know you need to sail again... please, stay... just for tonight...”  
Inej sighed, a tender smile on her face. She approached his cheek with her free hand, she went close, but she didn't let their skins touch. She moved her hand back and forth, leaving an imaginary caress on the right side of his face.  
“I'm here, Kaz” she whispered then. “I will stay with you, tonight.”  
She thought he couldn't hear her... and yet, she felt warmed from the little smile that appeared on his lips.  
“Thank you.”  



	2. Part 2

Kaz was sleeping quietly since a couple of minutes.  
His forehead was still burning, but his personal, inner Hell seemed willing to give him a break.  
Inej sighed, stretching her tiny shoulders, she refreshed his face with the handkerchief and then left the room for a while, walking to the kitchen.  
She felt a bit relieved for his much better conditions and she desperately needed something to drink.  
Passing through the small living room, she noticed their friends were all still there, sleeping: Wylan and Kuwei were both curled up on the sofa, Wylan on the right half, Kuwei on the left; Jesper was on the armchair she was sitting on hours before, while cleaning her knives, and Nina and Matthias were laying on the soft carpet. He had a pillow under his nape, while the Grisha seemed to enjoy much more her boyfriend's chest, as a place to rest her head.  
Inej smiled, walking as silently as possible, until she reached the kitchen. There was some tea left into the teapot, so she poured it into a cup and, finally, she took some moments for herself for the first time, that night.  
The tea was cold, but she didn't mind. She actually enjoyed it more (or, maybe, she was feeling so relieved that everything tasted better).  
There was the right amount of sugar, in it, and she thought it could have been good, for Kaz, to drink it too, once he would have woken up.  
She emptied the teapot into another cup and silently walked back to the bedroom, when Jesper's sleepy voice reached her ears.  
“How's him?”  
The young woman turned her head, smiling: “He seems to feel better. Go back to sleep, Jes, you're terribly tired.”  
“Mmmh...” the sharpshooter murmured. “Okay, but call me, if you need...”  
“Call me too...” Matthias echoed, without opening his eyes.  
Inej widened her smile, thanking them with a whisper.  
When she entered the room, she saw Kaz slowly moving his head. She approached the bed, sitting on it, the teacup still in her hands.  
The young man opened his eyes, blinking.  
“Kaz?” she murmured. “Are you awake?”  
Dirtyhands grumbled something she didn't understand, then, he turned his head, meeting her eyes. His irises had the same color of the tea into the cup.  
“Inej?” he muttered.  
“Oh, Saints, thanks!” she sighed in relief. “I was afraid you were still having nightmares...”  
“Nightmares?”  
“You got a fever” she explained. “And we spent... quite awful hours. Wait, let me...”  
She was about to remove the handkerchief on his forehead, but he seemed he had the same idea at the same moment. Their hands almost touched and they both froze.  
“Uh... I... sorry...”  
“No...” he whispered, letting his own hand fall back on the mattress. “It's okay... what's... on my head?”  
“A wet handkerchief. But, since you're awake now, I think you can take Kuwei's medicine. You just need to... sit up, to drink...”  
He weakly nodded, but it was clear he couldn't do it all alone.  
Inej placed the teacup on the bedside table and, as careful as she could, she leaned down and placed a hand under his back and the other under his nape.  
“Are you okay?”  
He shivered but nodded: “Yes...”  
“Alright. One, two... three!”  
He propped up on his elbows, moaning, then, Inej gently pulled him towards herself, helping him to gain a sitting position.  
Kaz squinted and shivered, resting his forehead against her shoulder: “Dizziness...” he murmured. “I need a moment...”  
“Yes, of course” she whispered, rubbing his back.  
They stayed still and silent for a while, then, Kaz slowly straightened his own back whiling.  
“I hate feeling like this” he grunted.  
Inej raised her eyes to the ceiling, shaking her head.  
“It's you fault” she said, taking a pill from the little box. “Jes warned you. If you didn't feel well, this morning, you should have taken some rest. And yet, you worked all day long.”  
She handed him the glass, half filled with water, then, she brought the pill to his mouth.  
“This will make you feel better.”  
He calmly accepted the medicine, without even shivering, when his lips almost touched Inej's fingers. He emptied the glass, swallowing, then, he sighed.  
“Is there... some more water?”  
“I brought you some tea” she answered. “Do you want it?”  
Kaz nodded, but, when she placed the empty glass on the bedside table, taking the teacup, the boy fell backward on the mattress, covering his face with his hands.  
“Kaz!”  
“Dizziness...” he panted. “Again. I feel so weak...”  
Inej caressed his shoulder: “It's normal. Do you want to wait a bit, before drinking the tea?”  
“I...” Kaz sighed. “I would actually love to drink it now... my mouth is terribly dry...”  
“Okay, then, wait...”  
Inej helped him to prop up on his elbows again, then, she placed herself behind his back, making him lean against her body. His nape rested against her shoulder and she felt terribly tempted to place a kiss on his temple.  
But she resisted.  
“Here you are” she whispered softly, bringing the cup to his lips.  
He took many, slow, weak sips, but that didn't bother her. She actually loved that long minutes they spent so close to each others.  
The boy in her arms was so different from the cold, stoic criminal that people were used to know.  
He wasn't Dirtyhands, he wasn't the Bastard of the Barrel, he wasn't the Criminal King.  
He was Kaz. Just her Kaz.  
And that moment was only made for them.  
“You know” she whispered, smiling. “It's nice to see, sometimes, you're human too...”  
Kaz feebly turned his head, looking at her and narrowing his eyes: “You are the only one allowed to see that, you know?”  
Inej let a little giggle out, placing a quick, soft kiss on his hair: “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this short story!  
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Lynn


End file.
